Military Stages a Coup

On May 20, 2014, Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, the army chief, declared martial law throughout the country. He ordered the closure of 12 television stations and more than 1,000 radio stations. He said the move was to restore peace and order and requested that both sides stop protesting. He explicitly said the military was not launching a coup—something it has carried out on numerous occasions. "We urge people not to panic. Please carry on your daily activities as usual. The imposition of martial law is not a coup d'état," Gen. Prayuth said. U.S. officials were skeptical of Prayuth's motives, and the State Department called on the military to "honor its commitment to make this a temporary action to prevent violence, and to not undermine democratic institutions."

Two days later, Gen. Prayuth announced that he had indeed seized power from the interim government in a coup. He said the coup was necessary because "of the violence in Bangkok and many parts of the country that resulted in loss of innocent lives and property." He declared martial law. It was the second military coup in less than 10 years. The military held power for more than a year after the last coup, in 2006.

In Aug. 2014, Gen. Prayuth was elected prime minster by the military-dominated National Legislative Assembly whose members had been handpicked by Gen. Prayuth. The assembly voted to impeach former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra in January 2015, claiming rice subsidies she gave farmers amounted to corruption because the farmers were paid more than the market rate. Under terms of the impeachment, Yingluck was banned from politics for five years. The military government formally charged her with corruption and negligence in February 2015. Her trial began in May. The subsidies helped rural farmers, the core of Yingluck's supporters.

On Aug. 17, 2015, a bomb exploded inside Erawan Shrine, a popular site for tourists in Bangkok. The blast killed 20
and injured at least 123 others. No one claimed responsibility for the bombing. It was the worst
explosion by far in a series of them since the military took power in the May 2014 coup. A second bomb
exploded in Bangkok the following day, but no one was injured. Police arrested a suspect two weeks after the bombing, and on Sept. 1, they arrested a man who they believe planted the bomb. Both are believed to be foreign. Authorities said they don't think the bombing was linked to a terrorist group, but acknowledged that they were reluctant to make that connection over fear of jeopardizing the tourism industry.